Mr Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image on Truth Social, and it was reposted by the White House. (Supplied: Truth Social / @realDonaldTrump)
In short:
US President Donald Trump has posted an artificial intelligence-generated image, depicting himself as the pope seated in an ornate chair, dressed in formal papal clothing.
The image has drawn widespread condemnation from Catholic communities and Italian media, who have described it as a "mockery" and "pathological megalomania".
What's next?
Catholic Church cardinals will gather in a conclave as part of an honoured tradition to elect the next pontiff.
United States President Donald Trump has posted an image generated by artificial intelligence, showing himself as the pope ahead of Catholic Church cardinals gathering in a conclave to choose a new pontiff.
Mr Trump, who is not a Catholic and does not attend church regularly, posted the image on his Truth Social platform on Friday local time, less than a week after attending the funeral of Pope Francis, who died at 88 last month.
The White House then reposted the image on its official X account.
Mr Trump attended the funeral procession for the late Pope Francis in St Peter's Square at the Vatican last month. (AP: Gregorio Borgia)
The image shows an unsmiling Mr Trump seated in an ornate chair, dressed in a white cassock and pointed mitre, or bishop’s hat, with his right forefinger raised.
The AI-generated image was reshared by the White House on official social media channels. (Supplied: Truth Social / @realDonaldTrump)
The irreverent posting drew instant outrage on X, including from "Republicans against Trump" — a group that describes itself as "pro-democracy conservative Republicans fighting Trump & Trumpism".
The group reposted the image, calling it "a blatant insult to Catholics and a mockery of their faith".
The New York State Catholic Conference, which represents the bishops of the state in working with government, also accused Mr Trump of mockery.
“There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr President,” they wrote.
"We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St Peter. Do not mock us."
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni declined to comment on the image during a briefing with journalists about the process of electing a new pope, which begins on May 7.
The Vatican is still in the period of nine days of official mourning after Francis's death, with cardinals celebrating daily masses in his memory.
The death of a pope and election of another is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics, for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth. That is all the more true in Italy, where the papacy is held in high esteem even by non-religious Italians.
Left-leaning former Italian premier Matteo Renzi said the image was shameful.
Donald Trump hails late Pope Francis as a "good man".
“This is an image that offends believers, insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” he wrote on X.
“Meanwhile, the US economy risks recession and the dollar loses value. The sovereignists are doing damage, everywhere.”
Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica also featured the image on its home page on Saturday with commentary accusing Mr Trump of "pathological megalomania".
Asked to respond to the criticism, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, “President Trump flew to Italy to pay his respects for Pope Francis and attend his funeral, and he has been a staunch champion for Catholics and religious liberty.”
Mr Trump's AI image also came days after he joked he would "like to be pope", during comments made to journalists on the lawn of the White House.
Beyond floating himself for the job, Mr Trump also has put in a plug for Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.
“I have no preference. I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out a place called New York who's very good. So we'll see what happens,” he said.
In mid-February, both Mr Trump and the official White House social media accounts posted a different AI-generated image of the president wearing a crown and captioned "CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!"
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